Personal computers (PCs), embedded computers, and other devices have evolved over the previous decades to meet the needs of a variety of applications. A wide variety of applications exist in which devices, for example digital circuits and processors, are relied upon to be available almost continuously. For example, telecommunication networks rely upon the almost continuous availability, also known as reliability, of computers and network equipment to provide phone service whenever needed. The packet switching network of the Internet provides another example. Internet service providers (ISPs) strive to provide reliable nodes within the networks of the Internet to provide on-demand Internet availability. Numerous industrial and commercial applications exist wherein the availability of devices or computers is critical. For example, most supermarkets and retail businesses have automated purchasing systems to allow consumers to purchase products. Brokerage systems are used in purchasing and selling stocks and bonds, and require almost continuous availability. As a consequence of the need for reliability and availability, a device may require automatic rebooting or reinitialization to restore the device from a malfunction state to a proper functioning state.
In response to a long felt need to provide reliability and availability, progress has been made in providing reliable circuits and devices. A more expensive approach uses redundant hardware and software, and may use self-monitoring or auditing software, to provide system hardware and software that is rarely nonfunctional. A less expensive approach detects and corrects a malfunction in a monitored device through use of a monitoring device, such as a card inserted into an expansion slot, such as a peripheral component interface (PCI) slot, of a computer or other monitored device. At least some monitoring devices, for example the PC Watchdog card from Berkshire Products, Inc., appear to apply a reset approach that reinitializes software. Reinitializing software is known in the art as a warm/soft reboot. The PC Watchdog product upon detecting a malfunction in the monitored device, sends a reset signal to the device to cause a reset, i.e. causes a warm/soft reboot of the device. However, warm reboots may not always return the monitored device to a functioning state.
A malfunction may also result in electronic circuitry becoming locked in an abnormal state, a state which may not be corrected without removing and restoring power (e.g. by performing a power reinitialization). At least in some malfunctions, a power reinitialization may be required to return the monitored device to a normal functioning state. Returning power or reapplying power is known in the art as performing a cold/hard reboot and is normally performed manually by a person pressing an on/off power button on the device. Among other drawbacks, a person must be present when a malfunction occurs to manually reinitialize the device. Therefore, the malfunction may prevent use of the device for long periods of time (e.g. until a person reboots the device).
In view of the above, and as a consequence of the long felt need for improvement in reliability and availability of devices and systems, further improvement is desired. An improvement in monitoring devices is needed to detect malfunctions in a monitored device and automatically control and return the malfunctioning device to a normal functioning state.